Marshall to pursue 10th term

Republicans are hoping the results of this fall's elections will show the president that Virginia is no longer a blue state.

Del. Bob Marshall, R-13th, kicked off his reelection bid at a historic Fauquier County farmhouse. Elected to the Virginia House of Delegates in 1991, this is his ninth consecutive run for reelection.

Marshall spent much of his address speaking against a transportation measure that was struck down last year but would have given Northern Virginia the right to set up a taxing authority to raise money for transportation im-provements. That authority would have levied additional taxes on gasoline and hotel stays, among others, said Mar-shall.

He did not support the measure, in part, because members of the authority would have been appointed, not elected.

"We tried to get money without being responsible for it, because we have a great need for fixing transporta-tion. I told my friends on the [House] floor 'We were shooting British [during colonial times] for doing what you all want to do right now,'" said Marshall. With the help of an attorney, Marshall said he sued over the matter and had the law which created the taxing authority repealed.

Marshall said moves like that did not make him popular with his fellow Republicans, who are pushing for transpor-tation fixes in their districts. Rep. Jackson Miller, R-50th, said that sometimes he wishes Marshall would do a better job at toeing the party line.

"A lot of people say that he is not a team player because he doesn't go along with the caucus all the time. And that's OK, I go along with the caucus more than Bob does. Sometimes I think that Bob should go along with the caucus on certain issues," said Miller. Miller went on to lend his support to Marshall's campaign, and said Republicans are expected to lose seats to Democrats this fall from districts in eastern Prince William County.

Marshall went on to call this year's election "a referendum on Obama." He said the president has incurred more debt in his first 100 days than any other president in American history. Virginia had a large hand in electing Obama.

He also pointed to George W. Bush and the Republican members in Congress during the last days of his administra-tion, criticizing them for excessive spending.

Marshall also opposes accepting federal stimulus money to help balance Virginia's budget, because much of it, he said, comes from "communist" China, as well as the Middle East.

He said that Republicans did a poor job of organizing, going door to door and making personal phone calls to voters urging them to vote during the 2008 campaign.

Marshall rallied his base, noting that he is pro-life and opposes gay marriage because, he said, the nation's Founding Fathers were also against the practice.

"Two men getting married is like a square circle to me, I have no comprehension of this at all," said Marshall.

In the 2009 General Assembly, the delegate voted for a bill to extend unemployment benefits from 26 to 36 weeks, as well as introducing health insurance benefits to the unemployed. The only stipulation on the bill was that they must pay 35 percent of the charged premium.

In addition to portions of Loudoun and Fauquier counties, Marshall's district includes areas of Manassas, Bristow and Nokesville in Prince William County.

Staff writer Uriah A. Kiser can be reached at 703-878-8065.